Anyone fortunate (and seasoned) enough to remember the go-go days of the late 90s and early 2000s remembers expense accounts (sorry, SORRY Gen Z, to rub it in). We loved our jobs and it was perfectly acceptable to party with your boss and date people at work. We traveled like crazy. We didn’t think much about luxury brands – they were for the very, very rich. Little did we know it – as Andy Bernard, my favorite character from The Office once said, “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them”.

In the new millenium came the era of full-blown democratization of luxury (or explosion of logos) – which carried on for two decades, as every major market worldwide (especially China) became intimately familiar with French and Italian luxury brands that had once been the exclusive playground of old money. Shopping at Gucci and Louis Vuitton became an accessible pastime for a much broader swathe of people across the globe. Even during Covid, the shopping spree continued, while it shifted online.

Then, suddenly, as we emerged from the pandemic, everything changed like a whipsaw. With the “return to normal” has come a sobering re-focus on value and efficiency.

Where did all the money go?

I’m not just talking about “consumer” money – I’m also talking about stinginess on the part of corporations. For white collar workers, expense accounts are a thing of the past, travel budgets have been slashed to the bone, and if you’re not feeling some fear about pending layoffs, you may have to absorb someone else’s workload. Gone are the days when we described “Google envy” for a client that had us monitoring workplace perks. Even Google is cutting back on their in-house sushi chefs.

Year end bonuses in many industries are taking a beat and skipping a year. From biotech to private equity, investors are impatient to get their payouts more quickly. There’s a lot of talk about innovation, but creativity feels particularly pinched off right now. Most “innovation” appears to be happening within the world of AI, which is focused squarely on productivity gains.

Then there’s the squeeze at the other end: it takes twice as much to buy the luxury handbag (that everyone now has) than it did ten years ago. No wonder luxury fashion is struggling to break out of a boring rut.

However, there is still money being spent on elusive things of beauty. We’re talking to our cultivated communities who are way out in front of what syndicated reports from Bain and McKinsey will tell you. Read on for a dose of optimism and an understanding of where luxury buyers are continuing to spend.

Malinda & the LookLook team

Shy Luxury – Showing Up In High-end Travel, Private Clubs, Vintage Goods And Wellness

Luxury goods brands have had to pivot and hard-knuckle it for a while now due to the abrupt swing of the pendulum away from luxury status symbols Price increases, the ease of online fashion shopping, and the fact that the most well-known luxury brands are now seen on too many people… these make up the Bermuda Triangle of Luxury Malaise.

In our chats with Luxuryverse communities in the U.S. and China this year, we have seen discretionary spending turn instead inwards towards uber-personalized travel experiences and private clubs. Travel and luxury hospitality remains the top priority for discretionary spending amongst the wealthy, well-ahead of luxury leather goods and fine art, which have been deprioritized after a few years of sky high collecting during Covid. Half of our Luxuryverse anticipate spending even more on travel in the next 12 months.

Brands are hopping on this trend of experiential luxury. With major fashion houses doing beach activations across Europe, expanding on cafe and restaurant offerings in stores, and building immersive experiences like The Louis in Shanghai, some are able to capture some of this spend. More than half of our LuxuryVerse are willing to spend more than $1500 per night on luxury hotels.

From one of our Gen X Miami-based LuxuryVerse members when we asked her about why she chose Marbella for her birthday celebration:

“I have traveled to Marbella in the past, and I fell in love with it. I love walking, and the wide promenade along the sea is people-watching paradise. The designer shops at Puente Banus are home to every top boutique, from Loro Piana, Louis Vuitton and Hermes, to Valentino, Dior and Dolce & Gabbana, while Old Town has a lot of charm and cute local shops and restaurants. The great Chanel store in Marbella is conveniently located at the storied Marbella Club Hotel!

Dolce & Gabbana has branded the popular La Cabane Beach Club, and their gorgeous blue and white Majolica print is the glamorous theme. The brand also has a fabulous rooftop bar atop their large store in Puerte Banus that’s definitely worth a stop!”

I really enjoy all these “brand takeovers” at already-cool venues. It makes them even more fashionable, dramatic and–of course–Instagram post-worthy 🤣”

We’re also seeing continued excitement around vintage luxury. As one of our most avid luxury RTW buyers recently reported:

“I have no desire whatsoever [to shop in boutiques] when everything I want is online. Stores have lines, rude salespeople & picked over merchandise. The good things are only release & reserve. I’ve definitely been into vintage & preloved styles much more than current. LV & Dior haven’t gotten my attention in a long time but I do still love CHANEL. Only issue is if I want a tank top it’s $2k, sweater $5k, jeans $3k. It’s just unsustainable.”

– Millennial, NYC

Even more noteworthy is that a whopping 9 out of 10 told us they’ll spend the same or even more on health, longevity and wellness.

I asked one of our Newport Beach Luxuryverse members if she still enjoys shopping for fashion at Fashion Island and South Coast Plaza and this was her response:

I had to better understand what she meant by biohacking, so I got a bit more detail:

“I did a lot of research and invested in red lights. I have a whole 360 red light station that I go in every day because it boosts collagen production and also has other anti-aging properties in general. My supplement game is probably thousands a month. I eat oysters every day but they are pulverized and shipped from Tasmanian Waters. My collagen is shipped from Norway. There’s another farm in India called Two Brothers Organic and they’re regenerative farmers so I pay like $50 for a bottle of ghee. I mean, all these like subtle shifts to, like, what is gonna maximize my microbiome?”
– Gen X, Newport Beach, CA

Finally, there is definitely arbitrage happening with the smartest luxury fashion buyers. This ties in with the fact that the very wealthy are shopping abroad. I had breakfast with one of our Crown Jewels in Chicago last week who reported trying on a pair of YSL trousers THREE TIMES: in Paris, Las Vegas and her home town of Chicago (she literally lives a block from a YSL boutique in the Gold Coast). Then she purchased them for half the retail price on Darveys.

Are luxury fashion boutiques now just showrooms? It’s quite clear that the luxury boutique experience needs to offer more than a bottle of water to compete with the personal shoppers and luxury sites that offer global inventory, expedited shipping, and better prices.

Gen Alpha’s Outsized Effect on Beauty

Moms are listening to their daughters

Axios has reported the results of a DKC poll on the influence Gen Alpha is having on households. About half are influencing their parent’s beauty purchases. This confirms what we hear from prestige and luxury beauty buyers: teenagers today have a remarkably sophisticated knowledge of skin care and makeup and their mothers are taking their cues from them in their beauty choices.

“The Sephora Tween” got a lot of play a year ago when they notoriously first worshipped then dropped Drunk Elephant skin care after the media criticized their adoption of sophisticated skin serums that are not age-appropriate. It’s clear now that, regardless of their shifting brand loyalty, they are still having an effect on brands that are getting play. The latest verdict we hear (via their moms) is that Tower 28 is now the buzzy brand. Teens admire female founder-led brands and are adamant about clean skin care.

We are plotting and scheming our own research in the form of a pajama-party with a select group of suburban New Yorker tween girls where we will share a range of beauty brands and take notes on their preferences and how they talk with each other and follow social media about beauty. Maybe we’ll invite their moms, although probably not! We want the leaders, not the followers, lol.

The Staying Power of Luxury Fragrance

A long sillage…

Legacy names may still have clout, but only when they reflect something deeper. Our LuxuryVerse members tell us they are more likely to spend $300+ on a niche fragrance that reflects a story than a blockbuster brand.

Fragrance is one of the “affordable luxuries” women purchase repeatedly. 70% of LuxuryVerse members have recently purchased luxury fragrance, the third highest category behind fine dining and wellness. When asked how their spending has shifted over the last year and how they anticipate it to shift over the coming year, two-thirds told us they’ll spend the same or more on fragrance. It’s one of the few categories that doesn’t appear to fluctuate, rolling recession or not.

La Bomba Fragrance launch from Carolina Hererra, Sao Paulo Guarulhos International Airport
In keeping with the surge in travel amongst the wealthy, luxury duty free retail is receiving extra attention. We heard much excitement around a new Carolina Herrera fragrance launch for La Bomba, from Sao Paulo to Istanbul and Dubai. For the moment, the luxury fragrance which features exotic pitaya, cherry peony and solar vanilla is exclusive to certain luxury duty free outlets.

IN FRAGRANCE NEWS: Ex-Rhode, Merit, and Versed CEO, Melanie Bender has teased a new fragrance line, Lore, developed with executives from Milk Makeup and Youth to the People set to launch at Sephora. With a master in virality at its helm, we predict delicious success.

It’s all about The Bed

And feeling like a Queen while there

We agree with Bethany Frankel about the importance of one’s bed, especially when it comes to the otherworldly mattresses that are apparently now available from the likes of Hästens, Luxiana and Kluft.

Even Dior’s new spa on 57th St. boasts re-energizing mattresses!

Personally, we rely on RueLaLa’s semi-annual half-priced sale on Frette sheets, but our Luxuryverse members are swearing by the benefits of luxury materials in their actual mattresses (9 out of 10 name this as a top priority)! Cashmere, silk and alpaca wool are the top three choices. Wayyyy ahead of cotton.

The Inevitable Swing Back To Luxury Fashion

No one else is saying it, but at LookLook we are forward-looking and we zig while others zag. With the emergence of exciting new creative directors showing at Dior and CHANEL this fall, we’re anticipating that the pendulum is ready to start shifting back to excitement around luxury fashion. Jonathan Anderson already received rave reviews for his men’s collection for Dior last month and there is high awareness of Mathieu Blazy’s first collection for CHANEL debuting in October (in New York! For the first time since 2018).

Boutique experiences are once again polished and ready to welcome clients. Women are getting a little tired of shopping their own closets. Vintage choices have never been better, it is true. But then again, there is nothing like receiving something new and connecting to a House that delivers beauty and rarity through its boutique experiences. We are ready to listen to what luxury buyers are excited about this fall and will report back in the coming months!

Until then, here’s to Palomas by the pool and the sea… enjoy your final days of summer and disconnection!